Kayakers traversing the Neuse to battle cancer

Charles Kilgore, of Parkton, and Wendy Taylor, of Carthage, walk from the Neuse River shore after arriving at Neuseway Nature Park. The group paddling for Hope Floats N.C. finished its Seven Springs-to-Kinston journey on Wednesday.

Published: Wednesday, April 24, 2013 at 08:02 PM.

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The 50-year-old Fayetteville resident and retired U.S. Army soldier was at Neuseway Nature Park Wednesday afternoon with about 19 others, taking a break in the middle of a 200-mile journey.

The group, Hope Floats N.C., is making its second kayak trip down the Neuse River, going from Raleigh to New Bern in the span of a week. The goal is to raise money that will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

“I did it last year, and last year it was about eight months out from a stem-cell transplant,” Bartlett said. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. I guess it was kind of selfish last year. This year, for me, it’s a way to fight cancer.”

The project can become a grueling endeavor, with kayakers pushing through fatigue at the end of the day.

“It’s been great. It’s been windy, which is always a lot more work, and we have to work harder, but that’s kind of the idea behind the whole thing is to suffer a little bit, to get a sense of what dealing with cancer is like,” Bartlett said.

The 50-year-old Fayetteville resident and retired U.S. Army soldier was at Neuseway Nature Park Wednesday afternoon with about 19 others, taking a break in the middle of a 200-mile journey.

The group, Hope Floats N.C., is making its second kayak trip down the Neuse River, going from Raleigh to New Bern in the span of a week. The goal is to raise money that will be donated to the American Cancer Society.

“I did it last year, and last year it was about eight months out from a stem-cell transplant,” Bartlett said. “I just wanted to see if I could do it. I guess it was kind of selfish last year. This year, for me, it’s a way to fight cancer.”

The project can become a grueling endeavor, with kayakers pushing through fatigue at the end of the day.

“It’s been great. It’s been windy, which is always a lot more work, and we have to work harder, but that’s kind of the idea behind the whole thing is to suffer a little bit, to get a sense of what dealing with cancer is like,” Bartlett said.

Kenly resident Rodney Stancil, 47, and his son Garrett, 24, took to the water in tribute to Rodney’s father. Cecil Stancil died in 2007 at the age of 64.

“This is our first year doing it, and we’re doing it in memory of him and in honor of some family members,” Rodney Stancil said. “We’re just trying to raise money for research so we can help somebody.”

Louisiana native Mary Grace McCoy, 44, lives in Siler City and her experience in paddling the river in 2012 affected her motivation to do it again this year.

“Initially, it was the personal challenge of it, of having to paddle that many miles and sleep outside for a week, so that was the first thing,” McCoy said.

She continued, “But then, I guess it really quickly — as I met everybody else on the team and the stuff they were going though — we have so many team members with cancer themselves. So, it was good seeing them out here doing this.”

The group set out from Seven Springs early Wednesday morning arrived in Kinston around 2:30 p.m., not unlike the journey of the CSS Neuse in March 1863.

Wednesday marked Day 6 of the journey — the group should arrive in New Bern today. To follow the kayakers’ journey, check them out on Twitter, @HopeFloats_NC, or go to hopefloatsnc.com.

Wes Wolfe can be reached at 252-559-1075 or wes.wolfe@kinston.com. Follow him on Twitter @WolfeReports.